April 3, 2023 Ice Out, Finally!

I consulted with David Hodsdon a little bit ago and we are in agreement: the conditions for calling Ice Out on Clary Lake have been achieved. There’s still one small ice floe still drifting around down in the east end of the lake but it is not attached to the shore, it is visibly shrinking by the hour, and it will likely be gone by morning. It is not preventing circumnavigation of the lake.

The winner of the First Prize of a $25 Gift Certificate from The Jefferson Scoop is Gayle Knight! Congratulations Gayle! She was the only person to have guessed today’s date, hence there are no runners up. However, I’d still like to offer runner up prizes of a laminated 8.5″ x 11″ Clary Lake Depth map to the 4 people who guessed tomorrow, April 4th. They are: Sarah Hazelton, David Marsh, Brian Vogel, and Beverley Bowen. I’ll email you and let you know how to collect your prize!

I’d like to thank everyone for playing, it’s been fun.

Live! From Clary Lake!

Image taken using Live View of ClaryCam-3

How many of you ever click on the “Live Stream in your browser” link on the Webcams page? I know the webcams themselves are very popular (22 people have looked at Clarycam-1 today alone), but I have no metrics on use of the live-view offered. My old visitor stats plugin used to show exterior links that people clicked on, but the plugin I’m currently using only shows local pages. I’m just curious! I could go grep through the weblogs to find that information, but that’s pretty tedious.

I check all three live feeds every day just to make sure they’re working OK. The level of service we’re using is free, but I have to periodically reactivate the cameras every once in a while. I’m just curious how many of our visitors check them out. Leave a comment!

March 2023 Water Level Chart Archived

3 Clary-Lake-Water-Level-March-2023

March 2023

I have archived the March 2023 water level chart (at left). The precipitation deficit we saw in February continued into March with only about 2.5 inches of precipitation falling, well below the average for March of 3.77 inches. However, due to the excess precipitation we received in January, we’re still 1.5 inches ahead of normal for this date. March is when we start the process of gradually raising the lake level by adding stop logs to the weir, while at the same time trying to maintain minimum flows to sustain the downstream aquatic habitat. We could really use some extra water in March to help with this process, but it didn’t happen this year. Given the conflicting mandates in the Water Level Order i.e., raising the lake level to it’s full capacity by ice out AND maintaining minimum flows at the same time, it’s a rare year when we can accomplish both! Usually something has to give and raising the lake level to where it belongs in the spring is our number one priority. We did succeed in gradually raising the lake level about a foot over the course of the month to within 1/2 a foot of the HWM, by the end of the month. With close to a half inch of rain falling on this first day of April, we should be overtopping the dam shortly. No fooling! Continue reading →

2023 Ice Out Update

Patience! It ain’t out yet but it’s getting closer! You can see what appears to be open water on the far side of the lake on this web cam picture, but it’s not open, it’s just dark water logged ice  and it’s more like a large section in the middle of the lake. I wouldn’t be walking around out there anymore.

The Vernal Equinox Has Arrived!

Well we’ve made it through another Winter, and for some of us it’s been particularly trying one. But today, finally, and despite the temperature, Spring is definitely in the air. At 5:24 PM this afternoon the Sun, in it’s apparent path around the Earth, will cross the Earth’s equator on it’s way North. It’s the Vernal Equinox, the day when the Sun rises directly Due East and sets directly Due West and the length of the day and night is equal. From now until the Summer Solstice in June, the days will be getting longer and the nights shorter. Summer is on the way 🙂

 

Ice-Out Contest Closed to New Entries

I’ve closed the 2023 Ice Out contest to new entries. Now we wait! We’ve got 38 ice out guestimates ranging from tomorrow March 17th (sorry no way!) to April 25th (could happen!). I have no idea if there’s thin ice out there yet or not, but looking out my upstairs office window at the lake today I can see the lake surface has taken on a gray cast indicating there’s water soaked snow on top now. You can’t see that on the Webcams because the images are overexposed, but it’s there. Wet snow on the ice combined with a higher sun angle and warmer temps means winter is coming to an end and the ice’s days are numbered.

Stay tuned!

Clary Lake Birding and Marsh Paddle Event

American Bittern, often heard if not seen on Clary Lake!

In what is becoming a most welcome annual event, experienced Clary Lake birder Malcolm Burson has offered to guide a small group of kayakers and canoeists on an early summer Birding event up into the great Marsh at the outlet of Clary Lake. Both Malcolm and his partner Eleanor Goldberg are long time birders with considerable experience spotting and identifying birds. The tentative date of the tour (to be confirmed as it nears) is Saturday, May 27th, with Sunday the 28th as a rain date. The event is expected to last about an hour and a half. To keep the group small and intimate, we’d like to limit participation to no more than 5-7 kayaks or canoes (no motorboats please, but electric motors are OK). We’ll be filling slots on a first come, first serve basis. If there is sufficient interest we’ll schedule a second event later in the summer on a date to be determined. Continue reading →

[UPDATE] Time is Running Out to Enter the Ice Out Contest!

Time is running out to enter the 2023 Ice Out Contest! We’ll be stopping accepting guesses at the end of the day on Wednesday, March 15th.  There are currently 29 guesses. It’s not cheating to look at our Ice In and Ice Out Dates page! You’ll find a description of the prizes, the contest rules, and the entry form here: 2023 Clary Lake Ice Out Contest!

[UPDATE] Remember, you can enter more than once but only your LAST entry will count!

Here are the guesses so far:

2023 Ice Out Guestimates

These are the guesses for ice out. The timestamp column will be used to decide on who was first in the event of a tie. I'll try and keep this more or less up to date. Hint: you can sort on any of the columns by clicking on the header:
TimestampYour name:Ice Out Guess:
3/12/2023 19:22:09Sue Webb3/17/2023
3/1/2023 14:22:10Stephen Viti3/21/2023
3/13/2023 23:19:11Megan Luisi3/22/2023
3/1/2023 14:08:55Randall B Wing3/23/2023
3/1/2023 16:41:05Jack Holland3/23/2023
3/1/2023 11:06:25Karen Stutzer3/24/2023
3/1/2023 12:36:22June Relyea3/26/2023
3/1/2023 16:06:19Anya Lagasse3/26/2023
3/1/2023 13:47:45Jay Bridgforth3/27/2023
3/4/2023 11:40:18Carolyn Curtis3/27/2023
3/1/2023 16:13:16Dan Burns3/28/2023
3/1/2023 21:04:18Sophie Seba3/28/2023
3/1/2023 16:50:39Megan Breece3/29/2023
3/8/2023 8:53:45Linda S Gallion3/30/2023
3/2/2023 18:16:36Thomas Gillette3/31/2023
3/6/2023 16:42:51Cheryl Smith3/31/2023
3/10/2023 11:35:09Steve Relyea4/1/2023
3/13/2023 18:59:22Ronnie Spann4/1/2023
3/12/2023 14:04:17Rick Gallion4/2/2023
3/14/2023 12:06:28Gayle Knight4/3/2023
3/1/2023 13:41:57Sarah Hazelton4/4/2023
3/1/2023 19:40:31David L Marsh4/4/2023
3/8/2023 10:48:13Brian Vogel4/4/2023
3/13/2023 18:06:57Beverley Bowen4/4/2023
3/1/2023 15:54:06Julie Anderson4/5/2023
3/3/2023 8:35:39Cindy Norman4/5/2023
3/1/2023 11:39:48Bill Hall4/6/2023
3/10/2023 10:19:24Michelle Pinkham4/6/2023
3/14/2023 12:08:25David Knight4/7/2023
3/10/2023 10:20:24Steve Pinkham4/9/2023
3/1/2023 16:56:40Dedi Rapp4/10/2023
3/15/2023 10:05:50Vicky Grimaldi4/12/2023
3/15/2023 11:23:56Ellis Percy4/12/2023
3/4/2023 11:29:37June m Lordi4/10/2023
3/1/2023 13:44:12DONNA Roeckel4/13/2023
3/13/2023 20:24:48Wynne Keller4/13/2023
3/13/2023 19:02:50Charlene Andersen4/14/2023
3/1/2023 13:08:23Kate Seba4/25/2023

 

Maine Lakes & Lake Stewards of Maine Annual Conference

LSM’s Annual Conference this year will be a joint conference with Maine Lakes.
Location:  China Lake Conference Center
Date: June 17, 2023. There are discounts for early registration, LSM Water Quality monitors and Invasive Plant Patrollers, and Maine Lakes’ LakeSmart volunteers.

Please have a look at the conference webpage to register and to learn more about the programming, workshops, sponsors, door prizes, and silent auction items that will be at this all-day, engaging, and inspiring day. Information will be added in the coming weeks as the schedule of speakers and activities are finalized.

Amanda E. Knight December 2, 1986 – February 19, 2023

Amanda Knight

It is with the deepest of condolences to our CLA President David Knight and his dear wife, Gayle that we acknowledge the passing of their daughter, Amanda. Amanda grew up on Clary Lake. David has been a solid and supporting hand in lake business during these past few years, all the while shouldering the heavy load of concern and care for a child struggling. David and Gayle made numerous trips to Vermont where Amanda lived with her wife, Carrie and their beloved child, Kastle. Through all of this he found time, where he could, to stay in touch with Association business and keep us informed of progress and setbacks. Alas, Amanda’s obituary is included below. Please keep David and Gayle and their family in your hearts and be kind to one another. Continue reading →

2023 Clary Lake Ice Out Contest!

This is our fourth year running a Clary Lake Ice-Out contest. This year’s prize for first place is a $25 Gift Certificate to The Jefferson Scoop. Yay Ice Cream! If you guess the correct ice-out date  or come closest without going past it, you’re the winner. It’s quite likely that the ice will go out before the Scoop actually opens for business. You were warned. In the event there are two (or more) people who guessed the same winning date, the person guessing first (based on the recorded timestamp) will be the winner and the other less-lucky (but still lucky!) person (or persons!) will win a laminated 8.5″ x 11″ Clary Lake Depth Map as a runner up prize (see below). FYI, the earliest the lake has been deemed completely free of ice was on March 13, 2016; the latest the ice has gone out was on April 24, 2001. Last year’s “official” ice out date was March 29th which was correctly guessed by Vicki Grimaldi. She won a beautiful 12″ H x 15″ W framed loon photograph taken by David Hodsdon. We also awarded some second places prizes to a couple of lucky but not that lucky people. Visit our Ice In and Ice Out page to see all our historical data back to 2001. Reviewing historical ice-in and ice-out data is NOT CHEATING!.

Clary_Lake_and_Meadow_Depth_Map_version_1.4

We’ll be closing the contest to new guesses late on March 15th or sooner if it looks like ice out is actually imminent. Guess as often as you want, but remember: only your last guess counts! Here’s the Entry Form: Continue reading →

February 2023 Water Level Chart Archived

2 Clary-Lake-Water-Level-February-2023

February 2023

I have archived the February 2023 water level chart (at left). February did not continue the wet trend that start the new year. On the contrary. February has the smallest average monthly precipitation of only 2.61 inches but we failed to reach even that low bar, receiving only 1.35 of precipitation for the month, mostly in the form of snow. We started February fully 4 inches ahead of average precipitation, but we lost ground, ending the month only 2.74 inches above average. Despite this, because we received so much precipitation in January, outflows from Clary Lake remained extremely high for the entire month. How high you ask? In the first two months of 2022, total outflows from Clary Lake amounted to 2231 acre-feet of water. In the first two months of 2023, outflows amounted to 4667 acre-feet or more than TWICE as much water. In other words, in the first two months of 2023 more than half the full volume of the lake passed through Clary Lake. In fact, outflows in the first 2 months of 2023 far exceed outflows during the same two-month period for the last 5 years, back to 2019 with the greatest disparity occurring in 2021: Continue reading →

Our Weather Page Actually Has Weather!

We haven’t had much in the way of current local weather on this website for some time. CLA member Tim Chase has a new Davis Instruments weather station designated Whitefield Village and we’re now hosting it on our Weather page. It displays the current temperature, wind, rain, humidity, and barometric pressure. There’s also a Whitefield Village Weather Summary page which has more information for a more detailed look at local weather.

I’m not sure when Tim installed his weather station but I think it was sometime in January. He therefore missed some of January’s heavy rains. As a result, his precipitation totals and mine won’t agree this year.

There’s a neat WeatherLink app on Google Play you can install on your Android phone which gives you access to loads of weather stations all over the world, in addition the Whitefield Village station. The app provides even more information including historical data. I assume there’s one for iPhones but I haven’t checked.

You’ll also find Whitefield Village weather on the Weather Underground station KMEWHITE15.

Banner Highlights

Usually the header image/banner on the website rotates randomly. Once in a while I highlight a specific banner image for a while. Today’s banner highlight is a truly ethereal sunset taken by Mark Rowe, taken looking southwest from Mark’s home on the North Clary Road.

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) Last Chance Ahead!

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)

If you haven’t already had a chance to observe comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), according to Colin Caissie (who manages the Brower Observatory located on the Fergusson property in Whitefield), the best chance to spot the comet will be this coming Wednesday evening before the gibbous moon rises at 7:56 PM and interferes with the comet’s visibility. The comet is rather faint  now (magnitude 8.57) and will be located just West of iota Aurigae in the Southeast and close to overhead, at an altitude of about 80°. Look for a small greenish fuzzy patch, with or without a tail. Sirius (the Dog Star) is the brightest star in the sky and it will be low on the southeastern horizon. You might also recognize Orion south of the comet’s location, and Castor and Pollux, the two bright stars in Gemini. Auriga is also a well known constellation, and Alpha Aurigae will be the brightest star in the sky at this time, close by just above and to the left (East) of the comet. Continue reading →

January 2023 Water Level Chart Archived

1 Clary-Lake-Water-Level-January-2023

January 2023

I have archived the January 2023 water level chart (at left). By far the most impressive thing about January was how much snow and rain we got! Total precipitation including rain and (melted) snow was 7.19 inches of water which is more than twice the average  precipitation for January of 3.19 inches. We’re starting off the year fully 4 inches above normal for this date. This will benefit ground water supplies this coming year. Even with all the snow and rainfall however, the water level was relatively stable though it was a little higher than we like to maintain it this time of year, due to all the inflows. January and February are usually pretty sedate months from a water level management perspective but this year we’ve had to open the gate a couple of times to let out more water just to keep the lake from overtopping the dam. There’s nothing wrong with overtopping, but this time of year it leads to ice formation which makes walking on the dam treacherous. We also like to keep the lake level lower in the winter to prevent ice damage to the shoreline. Mother nature however usually has her way. Continue reading →

Help Wanted! Inquire Within!

Welcome to the Clary Lake Association website as we enter the doldrums of winter! If this is your first time visiting our website, an extra hearty welcome, and we do hope you’ll come back. If you are a returning visitor, know that your continued interest in our website and in the Clary Lake Association is greatly appreciated. The Clary Lake Association plays a vital role in protecting and preserving Clary Lake, and we very much need interested and engaged people to keep the Association functioning and relevant. We’re an all-volunteer organization and we depend on people like you who love Clary Lake to get involved and help out. Continue reading →